Door or gate stop



May 5, 1931. c. GREENE DOOR 0R GATE STOP Filed Dec. 51, 1928 F A M. m 3

' I N V EN TOR. 60212 fume Patented May 5, 1931 r Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE onn'rrs GREENE, or SAN DIEGOJCALIFORNIA noon on GATE s'ror Application filed December 31, 1928. Serial No. 329,351.

of my invention are:

First, to provide a door or gate stop which is inexpensive of construction, strong, rugged, simple and positive in action, compact, and which will not readily deteriorate or get out or order i Second, to provide a door or gate stop particularly well adapted for installation in locations exposed to the weather, due to the complete protection of the interior of same from the entrance of rain wateror of debris of-any sort, and to the absence of close-fitting moving parts, ensuring smooth functioning even if. after long service, a considerable'amount of rust or corrosion of the parts of same should occur; I

Third, to provide such a stop which may be easily and quickly installed firmly in any situation in the ground by driving in the'sharpened casing, the moving parts being instantly removable from said casing without the use of tools, to facilitate said driving in the ground without injury to any part of the device, which may be instantly assembled without tools, which may also be easily adj ustedto preserve the proper clearance when thefsag of said door or'gate on its hinges increases, by driving said casing a little farther in the ground, and which maybe readily removed from said situation and installed elsewhere when desired, or which may be installed permanently by embedding in any concrete or other hard floor or pavement; j

Fourth, to provide such a stop, so installed, which will in its extended or raised'p'osition stop the motion of a door, gate, or othersupportedstructure, and willin its contracted or lowered position permit unobstructedmotion.

of the same, the change from said extended position to said contracted position and-vice versa being made instantly, with ease and without stooping by the person having occasion to open, close orv move said door, gate or other structnre'and;

pivotally supported structure, and the objects Fifth, to provide a novelly constructed door or gate stop.

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combi-' nation and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafter described indetail and particularly set forth in the appendedclaims, reference being had. to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon which form a part of this application in which i Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my door or gate stop; Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; Fig; 3 isa vertical section of same showingthe shaft in its lowered position, on the line 33, of Fig; 6 and showing the outline of the shaft head and hook in their raised position by dotted lines; Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the device on theline 44, of Fig. 6 and at right angles to the line 3+3, with the shaftin its lowered position, and showing the outline of the shaft head and hook in their raised positionin dotted lines; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the shaft head of the device after the removal of the shaft, on the lines 5.5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the device on theline 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig.7 is a transverse section'of the device on the line 77 of Fig. 3 Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the device on the line 88 of Fig. 3; Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the device on the line 99 of Fig. 3; Fig. 10 is ;a perspectiveview of the shaft head of the device in" a slightly -modified form.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts and port-ions throughout the several views of the drawings.

-' The casing tube. 1, is a straight, hollow cylinder .of metal, open at its upper end.

'The casing shoe 2, is a piece of tough metal,

threaded at its upper end, andscrewed into the threaded interior of the lower end of the I casing tube, plugging the same completely.

The lower end of said casing shoe is tapered to a conical point concentric with the center line or axis of the casing tube.

The casing sleeve 3, is a rectangular piece of fiat metal, bent to a part-circular crosssection and fitting closely within and soldered to the inside of the casing tube, from the top of the casing shoe to a point about one-third of the distance from the same to the upper end of the casing tube. A gap is left between the parallel, vertical edges of said casing sleeve to allow extra clearance for the lower portion of the shaft 4, when it swings in a manner which will be hereinafter described. At the upper end of the casing sleeve the edges of same are bent inwardly to parallel lines to form guides to said shaft when it swings toward and away from said gap in the casing sleeve. The top of said casing sleeve 3 is cut squarely off on a horizontal plane flush with said parallel upper edges of the same, so as to form a seat for the lower end of the spring 5.

A short portion of the casing sleeve adjacent to its lower end,and lying directly opposite the aforesaid vertical gap, is cut away, and a portion of the metal immediately above is cut vertically at its two sides and bent inwardly, forming the lug 6, integral with the casing sleeve, and having a straight, horizontal lower edge.

The shaft 4, is a cylindrical bar of metal of a diameter slightly less than the width between the aforesaid parallel sides of the upper end of the casing sleeve; its lower end is tapered, and terminates in the small, pointed hook 7, adapted to be engaged and retained against upward movement by the lug 6. The upper end of said shaft is threaded and screwed into a threaded recess in the shaft head 8. r

Said shaft head is'made of cast metal in the form of a deep, inverted cup of cylindrical form, and concentric with the shaft, the inside diameter of its lower, pen portion being slightly larger than that of the outside of the casing tube, which it overlaps.

The spring 5, is of metal wire in the shape of a cylindrical coil, the outside diameter of which is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the casing tube, in which it iscontained, enveloping but not touching the shaft, with its lower end engaging the upper end of the casing sleeve, and its upper end engaging the lower side of the central portion of the shaft head, being held in a shallow recess in the same.

The two lugs 9, are formed integralwith the casing tube on opposite sides of the same, at or near its top, by cutting and bending portions on radial lines outwardly a short dis tance.

The two shaft head grooves 10, are cut into the inner wall of the open, tubular portion of the shaft head directly opposite each other. Said grooves are rectangular in cross-section, and extend from the upper end of said tubular portion of the shaft h ad to a short distance above its lower end. The least width of said grooves is slightly greater than the horizontal width of the lugs 9, and their depth is about equal to the distance said lugs extend outwardly from the perimeter of the casing tube.

One of the longitudinal walls of each of said grooves 10 is straight for its full length, said straight walls being directly opposite each other across said tubular portion of the shaft head. T he least width of each of said grooves is at its upper and lower ends. From said ends, the wall of each groove across said groove from said straight wall, is skewed slightly away from same, the width of each groove increasing toward its central portion, where each groove 10 is joined by one of the two horizontal grooves 11. The purpose for which the grooves 10 are widened at their central portions by skewing their sides as above set forth is to prevent the lugs 9 from catching in the sides of the grooves 11 if slight rotary motion be imparted to the shaft head in raising or lowering the shaft, as will be set forth hereinafter. 1

Said grooves 11 are of rectangular crosssection, and extend for a distance around said inner wall of the tubular portion of the shaft head, the depth of said grooves 10 and 11 being equal, and the width of said grooves 11 being slightly greater than the vertical length or the lugs 9. r 7

At points directly opposite each other across said open, tubular portion of the shaft head, the horizontal grooves 11 terminate in vertical ends. Adjacent to said vertical ends, the vertical grooves 12, of rectangular crosssection, join said grooves 11, and extend to the lower end of the shaft head. The width of said grooves 12 is slightly greater'than' the horizontal width of the lugsrt), and their depth is equal to the depth of the grooves 10 and 11. i

The lugs 9 and the grooves 10 are relatively so placed that when the device is correctly assembled with each of said lugs in the proper groove 10, the point of the hook 7 is turned toward the lug 6 in the casing.

The top of the shaft head is trough-shaped, the vertex of said trough being a horizontal line passing through the axis of the shafthead, and the surface of 'said top slanting upwardly from said vertex on two planes inclined at equal angles from the horizontal. Said horizontal vertex lies at right angles to the vertical plane in which the center line of the hook 7 lies.' Inscribed on the inclined plane surface of the top of the shaft head in the direction toward which said hook points, is the word Raise, and on the other in clined plane surface, opposite, is the word Lower. Around said words, the two said inclined plane surfaces are deeply scored to prevent the sole of .a shoe placed upon either for the purpose of raising or lowering the shaft head from slipping.

It will be noted from the foregoing description and with reference to. the accompanying lliu drawings that my door or gate stop is com in itself, either composed of but one piece,

or of two or three pieces firmly screwed or soldered together. When the device is to be installed by driving. in the'ground, the easing is separated from the other portions to prevent injury to the shaft head and shaft during the said operation. When said casing has been properly installed, the device is assembled without the use of tools, in the fol-. lowing manner: I

The shaft is first slipped within the spring 5 then with the upper end of said spring seated in the aforesaid shallow recess in the shaft head, and with the hook 7 turned toward the lug 6, the shaft and spring are thrust downwardly into the casing tube untilthe lower end ofthe spring rests upon the upper end of the casing sleeve. Downward pressure is then brought to bearnpon the shaft head, either by hand, or more conveniently by the foot of the person assembling the device, the sole of the shoe of said person being placed squarely upon the top of the shaft head and engaging the topmost part of each of the inclined sides of same. Said downward pressure flexes the spring and causes the lower portion of theshaft to pass into the lower portion of the casing, below the parallel upper edges of the casing sleeve. When the lower edge of the shaft head is depressed as far as the upper edges of the lugs 9, said lugs are caused to enter the vertical grooves 12, in the shaft head by revolving said shaft head to bring said grooves into the correct register with their corresponding lugs and then continuing the downward pressure on the shaft head. When same has been depressed until the lugs have reached the horizontal grooves 11, with the downward pressure still continued, the shafthead is revolved until the lugs 9 have entered the vertical shaft head grooves 10. The downward pressure on the shaft head is then relaxed, and the upward pressure of the spring raises said shaft head until its motion is stoppedby the lower endsof the lugs 9 engagingthe lower ends of the grooves 10.

i The shaft head in its raised position as above indicated, is in position to stop the motion of the door or other structure which i the device is intended to stop, forming an unyielding barrier against any lateral pressure, said shaft head being held upright by C head and shaft from theirraised position above described to their lowered position, theperson making said change places the sole of his shoe upon the half of the top surface of the shaft head bearing the word Lower, saidhalf being upon a plane inclined at an angle fromthe horizontal, as hereinbefore. described, and presses downwardly,the pressure being applied in a clirection normal to said plane surface; The vertical component of said inclined pressure causes the shaft head and shaft to be depressed as the spring is flexed, while the horizontal component of said pressure causes a moment pivoting at a point on the inner side of the lower edge of the shaft head where same engages the casing tube, which causes the point of the hook 7 to press against the side of the casing sleeve toward the lug 6, as the shaft descends. Near the lowest point in said descent, said hook'reaches' and clears the lower edge of said lug. When said clearance has been effected the downward pressure may be gradually relaxed, or it may be continued until the lower surface of the central portion of the shaft head engages and is stopped by the top ofthe casing tube, and then gradually relaxed. When said downward pressure is relaxed, the upward pressure of the spring upon saidshaft head lifts the same and the shaft, while the aforesaid moment still continuing, due to the fact that the foot has not yet been lifted from the top of the shaft head,causes the point of the hookto press against the inside of the casing directly below the lug 6, as it ascends. WVhen said hook has ascended far. enough to engage said lug it is stopped by same, and the shaft and shaft head are held securely in their lowered position. i

It is obvious that in installing the casing by driving in the ground or otherwise, the top of said casing must be placed 'at such an elevation that when the device isassembled,

theshaft head in its loweredposition describedabove will clear the bottom of the door or other structure to which it'is intended to form a stop, while, in its raised position in engagement.

When it is desired to change the shaft head from its lowered to its raised position, the

' person making said change places the sole of his shoe upon the half of the top surface of the shaft head bearing the word Raise, said half being inclined from-the horizontal as hereinbefore described, and presses same downwardly and in the direction normal to said half of the top surface. The vertical component of said inclined pressure flexes the spring and causes the shaft head and shaft with its hook to be depressed, while the horizontal component of said pressure causes a moment pivoting at a point on the inner side of the lower edge of the shaft head where same engages the casing tube, which causes the shaft to swing away from the lug 6, when the top of the hook 7 has cleared same, and to strike the inner surface of the casing tube at a point farthest from said lug. hen said clearance has been effected, the pressure upon the shaft head is gradually relaxed sufficiently to permit same to be raisedby the upward pressure of the spring to its raised position, with the lower surface of the lugs 9 engaging the lower ends of the shaft head grooves 10, as hereinbefore described. vVlnle said gradual upward movement of the shaft head and shaft is in progress a sufficient amount of the aforesaid oblique pressure upon the shaft head is retained to cause the aforesaid horizontal component to press the lower portion of the shaft against the inner surface of the casing tube farthest fr m the catch 4, insuring full clearance between the end of the hook and the catch.

As the shaft and shaft head are moved from their raised to their lowered position and vice versa in the manner set forth above, a slight rotary motion may be given to them inadvertently by the person raising or de pressing them. Any such motion is certain to be slight. If the straight, vertical edges of the grooves 10 swing toward the lugs 9, said motion is stopped when said edges engage said lugs. If rotary motion is caused in the opposite direction, the lugs 9 will ap preach the horizontal grooves 11, but such motion is certain to be too slight in the normal operation of the device to cause said lugs to enter said grooves so as to stop further vertical movement, and the oblique sides of the grooves 10, engaging the lugs 9, will guide the shaft head back to its true orien tation as the same is completely raised or lowered.

When it is desired to take the device apart when the casing is installed in the ground, it may be accomplished in the following manner:

If the shaft head is in its lowered position, it must first be brought to its raised position as hereinbefore described. WVith the shaft head in its raised position, the person taking the device apart places the sole of his shoe squarely upon the top of the shaft head so that it engages the topmost part of each of the inclined sides of same. He then presses the shaft head downwardly until it is depressed abouthalf way to its lowered position, at which elevation the lugs 9 are opposite the horizontal grooves 11, and turns the shaft head so that said lugs traverse said grooves to their ends. The lugs 9 are then directly over the vertical grooves 12, and the pressure on the top of the shaft head is relaxed allowing the spring to lift the shaft head, t if: lugs 9 traversing the groeves 12 to and past their lower ends. The foot is then removed from the shaft head, and the shaft and spring are free to be lifted from the casing.

Should it be desired, when the casing is not installed in the ground or in a. floor or pavement, to assemble or take the device apart or to change the shaft head of the same from its raised to its lowered position, or vice versa, the operation may be performed in a manner similar to the corresponding operation hereinbefore described, but with the two hands, one holding the casing and the other the shaft head.

It will be noted from the foregoing descriptions and with reference to the accompanying drawings, that in my door or gate stop the casing, the spring and the shaft with its head are fitted together loosely, with such clearance between parts which must move one within the other in raising or lowering the shaft head or in assembling or taking the device apart, that said parts may become quite heavily incrusted with rust or corrosion without causing them to interfere with the efficient functioning of the device by excessive friction or binding. It will also be noted that the solid shaft head overlaps the casing at all times, when the device is assembled, so as completely to exclude all rain water and debris of any sort.

A slightly modified form of the shaft head of my door or gate stop, which is shown in Fig. 10 of the accompanying drawings, has the two outwardly extending plates 14, integral with said shaft head, adjacent to its lower end and on opposite sides of same, for the purpose of afiording a bearing for the shoe sole of the person raising or lowering the shaft, as substitutes for the two scored, inclined planes on the top of said shaft head in the form of same first set forth. In said modified form, the top of the shaft head lies on a plane at right angles to the center line of axis of said shaft head, and the afore said scoring is omitted. The word Raise is inscribed on said top over the one of said plates 14 which projects in the direction toward which the hook 7 points, and the word Lower is inscribed over the plate 14 opposite. The device, when equipped with a shaft head of the modified form above described is operated exactly as when equipped with a shaft head of the form first described herein, excepting that the shoe sole of the person raising or lowering the shaft is placed on the plate 14 corresponding to the operation, instead of on a side of the top of the shaft head. A moment is caused by downward pressure on either of the plates 14, because of the position of said plates, offset horizontally from the center line of the shaft, said moment-s having vertical and horizontal components similar to those hercinbefore described, which cause the device to function l ft exactly in the manner hereinbefore set forth when operated with the type of shaft head first set forth. In every respect excepting as indicated above, the said modified form of the shaft head is identical with the form of shaft desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. In a device of the class described, a vertically disposed casing member, a lug secured in the lower end thereof, a shaft reciprocally mounted therein provided with a hook on its lower end adapted to engage the lug in said casing, a head rigidly secured to said shaft and tiltably supported around the upper end of said casing, and a spring interposed between said lug and said head tending to hold said head and shaft upwardly.

2. In a device of the class described, a vertically disposed casing member, a lug secured in the lower end thereof, a shaft reciprocally mounted therein provided with a hook on its lower end adapted to engage the lug in said casing, a head rigidly secured to said shaft and tiltably supported around the upper end of said casing, and a spring interposed between said lug and said head tending to hold said head and shaft upwardly, said head provided with notches in its interior and lugs mounted on said casing engaging said notches to limit the movement of said head relative to said casing.

3. In a device of the class described, a casing closed at its lower end and provided with a pointed end, a lug member secured in the lower end of, said casing and extending up-' wardly some distance and provided with 111- ciprooally mounted in said casing with its sides engageable with said flanges and its lower end portion provided with a hook engageable with said lug, a head loosely mounted over the upper end of said casing whereby it may be tilted thereon and rigidly secured to the upper end of said shaft and resilient means interposed between said head and said lug tending to move said head from said lug,

said head provided with oppositely disposed foot engaging portions at its upper end.

5. In a device of the class described, a casin g closed at its lower end and provided with a pointed end, a lug member securedin the lower end of said casing and extending upwardly some distance and provided with inwardly extending flange portions, a shaft re ciprooally mounted in said casing with its sides engageable with said flanges and its lower end portion provided with a hook engageable with said lug, a head loosely mounted over the upper end of said casing whereby it may be tilted thereon and rigidly secured to the upper end of said shaft, resilient means interposed between said head and said lug tending to move said head from said lug, said head provided with oppositely disposed foot engaging portions at its upper end, and means in said head adapted to be engaged by means on said casing for limiting the movement of said head relative to said casing, said means consisting of lugs on said casing engageable with skew shape slots in said head.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Diego, California, this 13th day of December, 1928.

CURTIS GREENE.

wardly extending flange portions, a shaft reciprooally mounted in said casing with its sides engageable with said flanges and its loW- er end portion provided with a latch engageable with said lug, a head loosely mounted over the upper end of said casing whereby it may be tilted thereon and rigidly secured to the upper end of said shaft and resilient means interposed between said head and said lug tending to move said head from said lug.

4. Ina device of the class. described, a casing closed at its lower end and provided with a pointed end, a lug member secured in the lower end of said casing and extending upwardly some distance and provided with inwardly extending flange portions, a shaft re- 

